Switzerland imported $279.2 billion worth of goods from around the world in 2018. This represents an increase of 4.4% from 2017 to 2018.
From a continental perspective, 63.1 percent of Switzerland's total imports in 2018 were purchased from the rest of Europe by value. Asian trading partners provided 20.7 percent of the imports purchased by Switzerland, while 8.8 percent by value came from North America. Smaller percentages came from Africa (3.8 percent) and Latin America (3.1 percent) (excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean).
Given that Switzerland has a population of 8.3 million people, the total value of its imports in 2018 was $279.2 billion, which corresponds to an annual product demand of about $33,700 for each person in this European country.
The following product categories represent the highest dollar value of Swiss import purchases in 2018. Also shown is each product category's percentage of overall Swiss imports.
I, Gemstones, Precious Metals: $86.6 billion (31% of total imports)
II, Pharmaceuticals: $30 billion (10.7%)
III, Machinery (including computers): $20.1 billion (7.2%)
IV, Vehicles: $15.5 billion (5.6%)
V, Electrical Machinery and Equipment: $14.9 billion (5.3 percent)
VI, Organic chemicals: $12.9 billion (4.6 percent)
VII, Fossil fuels, including petroleum: $9.7 billion (3.5 percent)
VIII, Optical, technological, and medical equipment: $8.3 billion (3 percent)
IX, Plastics, and plastic products: $7 billion (2.5 percent)
X, Furniture, Bedding, Lighting, Signs, Prefabricated Buildings: $4.6 billion (1.7%)
Switzerland's top 10 imports accounted for three quarters (75%) of the total value of its purchases from other countries/regions.